If the Marana Regional Landfill is constructed, the value of
existing, nearby residential properties would likely be "negatively
impacted at a greater rate of depreciated value" than that of
subdivisions built next to previously placed landfills, according
to an analysis by senior property appraiser Brian Johnson of the
Pima County Assessor's Office.

That opinion differs from an assertion by Suzanne Grace-Poore of
Southwest Appraisal Associates, on behalf of the developer, that
"despite the concerns of property owners in the surrounding area …
it is my opinion that the proposed landfill does not adversely
affect the property values of properties in the area."

In March, Johnson wrote a three-page analysis intended to
identify "possible negative effects a landfill might impose on area
property values."

He compared property values of four subdivisions built near
existing landfills. The Gladden Farms development is adjacent to
Pima County's Tangerine Landfill in Marana, and Johnson used mass
appraisal techniques to illustrate Gladden Farms values and those
of the comparable San Lucas development several miles away in
Marana.

A second study analyzed property values in the Rancho Valencia
development next to Tucson's Los Reales Landfill as they compared
with the more distant Empire Vista development.

All residential property values have been affected generally and
equally by local and national housing conditions, Johnson points
out.

However, in comparing 2007 and 2009 sales data, Johnson found
steeper declines in sale prices at Gladden Farms and Rancho
Valencia, the two subdivisions closest to Tangerine and Los
Reales.

"The results of this sales analysis indicates that the proximity
to a major landfill depreciates residential property values,"
Johnson writes.

He points out the subdivisions were developed "many years after
the establishment of the landfills. Buyers of homes in Gladden
Farms and Rancho Valencia were or should have been made aware of
the negative impact of economic obsolescence on their property
values by the developers who sold them their homes," Johnson
writes.

The 92-lot Silverbell West subdivision is a mix of
site-constructed and manufactured housing on land more than a half
mile away from the proposed Marana Regional Landfill. The
subdivision was developed in the early 1970s.

"The negative impact of economic obsolescence would be imposed
after their properties were purchased," Johnson writes. "Since the
local residents purchased their homes with the existing zoning,
rural low or medium density, prior to any rezoning, they could be
negatively impacted at a greater rate of depreciated value than the
subdivision properties used in this study."

In formulating an opinion, Grace-Poore reviewed the Marana
Regional Landfill Specific Plan, researched the effect of other
landfills on surrounding residential properties, inspected the
proposed site and interviewed real estate agents.

At the time of the study, there were three active listings in
Silverbell West, priced from $49,900 to $99,000.

"I acknowledge that public knowledge about the location of the
proposed landfill is recent and there are no recent sales within
the Silverbell West community," Grace-Poore writes. "It remains to
be proven whether the proposed landfill will have an adverse impact
on the final sales prices of the existing active listings."